Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities in three local government areas.
The affected local government areas are, Shiroro, Munya and Rafi.
The order, he said, became necessary following continued bandits’ attacks on the councils until further notice.
The directive was contained in a statement issued by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane in Minna.
The SSG said the decision to suspend activities became necessary as a result of escalating insecurity in those areas in recent times.
“It is observed that these mining sites now attract or even accommodate criminals with prospective threats to security of lives and property, ”the statement argued.
He warned that any mining operator caught engaging in mining activities in the areas mentioned would face the full wrath of the law.
“The State Government has directed security agencies in the state to profile all mining sites in the affected local governments with a view to ascertaining their genuineness.”
Matane also assured the people of the state that the government would not scale down pressure on the armed bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and other criminal elements until they were flushed out of the state.
The statement further urged the people of the state to be security conscious and report all suspicious characters, movements, or objects in their communities to security agents.
It would be recalled that bandits attacked a mining site in Ajata Aboki Village in Shiroro LG last Wednesday that resulted in the killing of about 48 persons, including soldiers, mobile police and civilians.
Many sustained various degrees of injuries and several others were kidnapped in the area.
